Barg means leaf, after the thin, wide sheets of tender fillet threaded flat onto the skewer. It is the most prized kabob on a Persian menu, and when paired with a skewer of koobideh it becomes soltani, the sultan's plate.
The meat must be a tender cut such as lamb loin or beef tenderloin. Slicing it thinly and pounding it evenly is the main work; after that, barg grills in barely five minutes.
Ingredients
Servings
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Instructions
- Partly freeze the meat for 30 minutes so it firms up. Slice it against the grain into strips about 1 cm thick, 4 cm wide and 10 to 12 cm long.
- Lay the strips between sheets of plastic wrap and pound them with a meat mallet to an even 5 mm thickness.
- Mix the onion juice, olive oil, pepper and half the saffron water. Add the meat, turn to coat, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Do not salt yet; salt draws out the juices.
- Thread the strips flat onto wide skewers, folding the ends so each skewer holds a single even layer. Sprinkle with salt.
- Grill over very high heat for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until browned outside and still pink inside.
- Brush with the butter mixed with the remaining saffron and serve immediately with chelow, grilled tomatoes and sumac.
Tips & variations
- Barg overcooks fast; it is better slightly underdone than dry.
- Serve one skewer of barg and one of koobideh per person for kabab soltani.
Where to buy the ingredients
Persian grocers carry the saffron, dried herbs, spices and long-grain rice that Persian cooking depends on:
Rather eat out?
Persian restaurants that serve it:
Kabab Koobideh
Joojeh Kabab
Chelow with Tahdig